Street-network Sprawl in Balyana, Egypt

What is Street-network sprawl?

Street-network Sprawl is a way to measure urban sprawl, worldwide, through the connectedness of the streets. Less sprawl means more connected, more walkable streets. Well-connected streets – like New York City’s grid – are more walkable and can be served by public transit.

The street network is permanent, and its connectivity affects the livability and environmental footprint of cities for decades and centuries to come. In places with more connected streets, residents drive less and walk more. A well-connected street network is associated with better outcomes for health, the environment, sustainable consumption, social integration, and equity.

We can quantify how connected street networks are with the Street Network Disconnectedness Index (SNDi).

SNDi -- our measure of street-network sprawl (disconnectedness)

The SNDi is a comprehensive measurement of “sprawl”. It captures:

A higher SNDi means less-connected streets – i.e., more sprawl. For the 10137 cities in our dataset, the average SNDi is 2.25, with half of the cities' SNDis falling between 1.08 and 3.25.

More information on the sprawl index can be found in these research papers:

To see the state of street-network sprawl across the globe, visit the sprawlmap.

Balyana: city in Suhaj, Egypt

What exactly constitutes the spatial extent of the city? For these aggregations, we used the Global Human Settlement Layer Urban Center Database (GHS-UCDB) to define the boundaries of the city. These cities -- or urban centers -- cover areas that are densely populated and built-up, and so may extend beyond the spatial borders of these cities that we may be familiar with. The GHS area is shaded in blue.

View Balyana, Egypt on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Balyana as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 2.93, which is in the 40th to 60th percentile of disconnectedness.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 2.98, nan, nan and -0.31. Data was not available in 1976-1990 and 1991-2000.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Balyana spans a total of 174 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed prior to 1975. These roads have an SNDi of 2.98, which is in the 40th to 60th percentile of disconnectedness.

Effect on the aggregate network: New construction in each period adds to the total stock of streets, but does not change streets that have already been built. Therefore, it has a limited effect on the street network as a whole. The SNDis of the aggregate street network in the respective time periods are 2.98, 2.98, 2.98 and 2.93. Overall, the SNDi of the aggregate street network has fallen: the street network in Balyana has become more connected. This decrease has quickened: between 1975 and 1976-1990, SNDi fell by 0.0 points, but between 1991-2000 and 2001-2014, it fell by just 0.05.

Balyana and Suhaj do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. There was not enough data from the city, while the SNDi of street constructions in Suhaj followed a zig-zag trend with an overall increase.

How do development practices in Balyana fare in comparison to others in Suhaj? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Balyana was the 3rd-most disconnected out of the 10 cities in Suhaj. Balyana ranked 8th in 1975 and 3rd in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1976-1990 and 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

Balyana and Egypt do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. There was not enough data from the city, while the SNDi of street constructions in Egypt followed a zig-zag trend with an overall increase.

How do development practices in Balyana fare in comparison to others in Egypt? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Balyana was the 91st-most disconnected out of the 170 cities in Egypt. Balyana ranked 86th in 1975 and 91st in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1976-1990 and 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

Balyana and Suhaj do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Balyana fell steadily, while the SNDi of street constructions in Suhaj was at its lowest in 1976-1990.

To date, Balyana is the 8th-most disconnected out of the 10 cities in Suhaj. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has not changed. Balyana ranked 8th in 1975, 8th in 1976-1990, 8th in 1991-2000 and 8th in 2001-2014.

Balyana and Egypt do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Balyana fell steadily, while the SNDi of street constructions in Egypt was at its lowest in 1976-1990.

To date, Balyana is the 93rd-most disconnected out of the 170 cities in Egypt. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Egypt, the street network in Balyana has become more connected. Balyana ranked 86th in 1975, 90th in 1976-1990, 91st in 1991-2000 and 93rd in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Balyana had a built-up area of 9.44 square kilometers, and a population of 355805 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: